Notebook: Former Fayetteville natives lead Mizzou over Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK — Taylor Powell isn’t one to publicize his emotions. When fielding questions from media members, the redshirt sophomore quarterback’s answers are consistently curt and non-revealing. But when Powell locked eyes with head coach Barry Odom after Missouri’s 24-14 win over Arkansas Friday, a grin crept across his face. Powell stood at midfield, smiling, his palms turned toward the night sky. As Odom grabbed him by the shoulder pads, his smile widened.

Clearly, this win meant more than most — and not just because it snapped a five-game losing streak for Missouri.

Powell grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas, just down the street from the university. Despite the fact that he led Fayetteville high school to consecutive state championships in 2015 and 2016, Arkansas did not offer him a scholarship. He committed to Wake Forest between his junior and senior seasons until, following his senior year, Missouri offered him a spot. Powell flipped his commitment to the Tigers a week prior to National Signing Day.

Even still, it would have seemed a long shot for Powell to play a meaningful role against the Razorbacks. Powell redshirted during the 2017 season and spent all of last year as the backup to Drew Lock. Instead of ascending to the starting spot upon Lock’s departure, Powell found himself supplanted by graduate transfer Kelly Bryant. Then, after struggling in his first career start against Georgia on Nov. 9, Powell fell even further down the depth chart, behind true freshman Connor Bazelak.

Fast forward to Friday, and with Bryant once again battling knee and hamstring injuries, it was Bazelak who drew the start. In just his third collegiate game, Bazelak looked sharp, completing seven of nine passes for 80 yards and leading Missouri on a 14-play touchdown drive. But midway through the second quarter, Bazelak tried to scramble for a first down and took an awkward fall. He left the game with what the team described as a right knee sprain.

Enter Powell.

On his first drive against his former state school, Powell completed a 30-yard pass to Kam Scott on a third down and seven, which set up a Tucker McCann field goal. His next two drives weren’t as smooth, as Missouri went three-and-out before halftime and, on the first play of the second half, Powell had his pass undercut and intercepted by Arkansas’ Greg Brooks Jr. The Razorbacks scored three plays later to take a 14-10 lead.

But after another three-and-out, running back Tyler Badie sparked an 84-yard touchdown drive to reclaim the lead. Then, with Missouri looking to put the game away in the fourth quarter, Powell delivered. He kept the drive alive by lofting a deep pass for backup receiver Tauskie Dove on a third down and 10, which Dove hauled in. Then, on another third down, Powell spotted an Arkansas defensive end jump offside. Knowing Missouri would have a first down thanks to the penalty, Powell threw for the end zone. Senior wideout Jonathan Nance leapt into the air, snatched the ball over a defender and got his foot in bounds. Touchdown.

“He’s going to bounce back whenever he gets knocked down, and I’m so proud of him,” slot receiver Barrett Banister said of Powell. “He’s been waiting a long time for that. What a better time for him to get his first touchdown pass. And threw it to Nance — just so many things aligned. It’s just crazy.”

That Powell threw his first college touchdown in War Memorial Stadium, where he played three state championship games in high school, is a story in and of itself. As Banister alluded to, that Nance was on the receiving end added to the moment. Nance spent two seasons playing for Arkansas, catching 37 passes in 2017 but grabbing just one last season. After four games, he opted to redshirt and graduate transfer to Missouri. He appeared to direct some words toward the crimson-clad faithful in the stands after catching the pass.

“It felt great, amazing,” Nance said. “It just felt good to come here back to Little Rock and score a touchdown.”

Nance finished the game with three catches for 38 yards and the score. Yet he was outdone by another wideout with Arkansas ties.

Banister said on Monday that he has had this game circled on his calendar all year. Starting in place of the injured Johnathon Johnson, the former walk-on certainly made his presence known.

Banister, who was a high school teammate of Powell at Fayetteville, caught four passes on Missouri’s 14-play scoring drive in the first half. All four went for first downs. Three of them moved the chains on third down. Banister finished the game with a team-high six catches for 60 yards.

“Barrett, he does this all the time at practice,” Nance said. “So it’s nothing new for us. He went out there and executed like he usually does.”

Odom, who traveled to his home-state schools of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as a player at Missouri, praised the players with Arkansas ties for keeping their composure and turning the personal nature of Friday’s game into a source of motivation rather than a distraction.

“I know what it’s like to go back and play your home school, and I’m proud of the effort, I’m proud of the focus, because it’s not easy,” Odom said. “... For Nance to make the touchdown catch, the way that he did, Taylor Powell delivering it, Banister had so many plays.”

Prior to Friday, Bazelak hadn’t played a snap in a game in which the result was in doubt. Yet like many backup quarterbacks, he had generated significant intrigue among the fanbase. Bazelak played one series in the loss to Georgia earlier this month and led the Tiger offense inside the 10-yard line.

Despite the high bar, Bazelak lived up to the hype before his injury against Arkansas. Though his pass fell incomplete, he showed his arm strength on his very first snap, launching a pass deep down the sideline to Scott. Two plays later, he hit Nance for a 17-yard gain on third and 10. Ultimately, he threw four completions of more than 10 yards and moved the chains on four first downs.

After the game, Bazelak was spotted on crutches with a brace around his right leg. Odom said he didn’t know yet whether the injury could be more sinister than a sprain, as the team described it.

“I think it was his right knee,” Odom said. “I don’t know anything from there.”

Quarterback wasn’t the only position where Missouri had to reach deep down the depth chart Friday. By the end of the game, the Tigers found themselves desperately thin at receiver. Not only did Johnson not make the trip due to a lingering shoulder injury, but Jalen Knox and Scott both left the game in the first half, Knox with an ankle injury and Scott with a shoulder.

As a result, Dove was pressed into the most meaningful action of his young college career. The redshirt freshman made only one catch, but it was among the biggest in the game. As mentioned above, his leaping, 37-yard grab moved the chains on third-and-10 and set up Nance’s touchdown catch.

Dove said after the game he’s been waiting all year to showcase his ability. But he probably should have had to wait longer. With a sheepish grin, Dove admitted Powell’s pass wasn’t intended for him. He actually ran the wrong route on the play.

“I basically had run the wrong route, but the ball came my way, so I went to go make a play for the ball,” he said.

Powell changed the play at the line of scrimmage, and as a result Dove was supposed to run a quick slant rather than a go route. He ended up in nearly the same spot as sophomore Dominic Gicinto. When Powell lobbed the ball in the direction of the pair, it wasn’t clear whether he meant for the pass to go to Dove or Gicinto. Dove took it upon himself to make the play.

Banister said Dove’s contribution showed the depth of the receiving corps.

“It’s next man up,” he said. “The last couple weeks, we’ve been hearing how we’re not very good, we’re not doing this, we’re not doing that, and we had some guys go out there and go down and guys stepped up and made plays when we needed them to.”

Of all the players who saw larger roles than normal Friday, cornerback Ishmael Burdine had to have been the most surprising. The true freshman underwent shoulder surgery prior to the season, and at one point the coaching staff said he would likely miss the remainder of the year.

Yet with starter DeMarkus Acy missing the game due to a hamstring injury, Burdine not only saw the field, he split reps on the first-team defense with junior Christian Holmes, apparently having leap-frogged Richaud Floyd, Adam Sparks and Chris Shearin on the depth chart.

Linebacker Jamal Brooks also saw a larger workload than normal. Freshman Devin Nicholson started at middle linebacker, but Brooks played the majority of the game. He totaled a career-high seven tackles.

For Missouri’s seniors, four of whom missed the game with injury, Friday represented the definite end of their college careers. But the Tigers could lose a few other upperclassmen to the NFL Draft.

The players with the greatest possibility to be among that group are tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, running back Larry Rountree III and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott. Okwuegbunam and Rountree were not available for interviews after the game, but Elliott said he plans to decide whether he will forego his senior season in the next week or so. Not surprisingly, the main factor will be where NFL scouts project him to be drafted. Elliott finished the year with 44 tackles, including 8.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks.

“I’m probably going to make my decision in the next week or so,” Elliott said. “Just sorting some things out, seeing where I stand. … Depending on what (scouts) say, that’ll affect if I stay or leave.”